Laser Weapons Approaching Battlefield Readiness

Boeing’s Thin Disk Laser system has just surpassed the Department of Defense’s Robust Electric Laser Initiative (RELI) program requirements. The high power, solid-state laser system’s output reached more than 30 kilowatts. That’s nearly 30 percent more power than RELI, requirements while measuring excellent efficiency throughout the test.

Solid-state laser technology with weapons-level effects has been maturing rapidly over the years. Recent advancements by scientists and in the commercial sectors have begun to show that a potential application for surface combat is possible. In particular, in 2011 the ONR Maritime Laser Demonstration (MLD) took a laser to sea and successfully conducted a mission scenario against a representative threat small boat for the first time while underway. Further, support for a continuation of competitive programs like LaWS (Laser Weapon System – NSWC Dahlgren), the MLD (Northrop Grumman) and MK 38 TLS (Tactical Laser System, Boeing/BaE) continues to gather interest and generate discussion.